Social media star Pesto the penguin celebrates first birthday
Social media star Pesto the penguin, who has earned an army of online followers for his big and fluffy appearance, is turning one.
The King Penguin, who calls the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium home, has celebrated his birthday with a slimmed down look, worlds away from the 23.5 kilogram big boy who went viral in 2024.
"It's kind of crazy how fast this year has gone, it feels like only yesterday that he hatched out of his little egg," Sea Life Aquarium Melbourne's Catherine Bushell told Today.
"He only weighed around 200 grams, then went up to 23.5 kilograms at his heaviest and now back down to around 16 kilograms."
Pesto's special day will be celebrated on Friday, which also happens to be Sea Life Aquarium Melbourne's 25th anniversary.
"It's going to be a pretty big day, lots of celebration going on both in and out of the exhibit. Pesto has got a jelly cake today and lots of fun enrichment for he and the rest of his colony to enjoy," she said.
"There's also lots of fun for the people, our first 1000 guests today will all get a free cupcake, but the party's going on all weekend, we've got a DJ and all sorts of celebrations happening tomorrow as well, so it will certainly be a party fit for a king."
Image credits: Instagram